Shene'emar and the Camelid Off-By-One Hidden Derasha

The other day in Sanhedrin 111b, a long Mishnah included laws and derashot. One section read:

״הַכֵּה תַכֶּה אֶת יֹשְׁבֵי הָעִיר הַזֹּאת לְפִי חֶרֶב״. הַחַמֶּרֶת וְהַגַּמֶּלֶת הָעוֹבֶרֶת מִמָּקוֹם לְמָקוֹם, הֲרֵי אֵלּוּ מַצִּילִין אוֹתָהּ.

From the verse: “You shall smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword” (Deuteronomy 13:16), it is derived that the caravan of donkeys and the caravan of camels that move from place to place, these donkey or camel drivers save the city. If they were residing in the city for a period, they could join the minority of permanent residents who were not subverted to idol worship in order to create a majority and prevent the destruction of the city and its contents.

שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר ״הַחֲרֵם אֹתָהּ וְאֶת כׇּל אֲשֶׁר בָּהּ וְאֶת בְּהֶמְתָּהּ לְפִי חָרֶב״, מִכָּאן אָמְרוּ: נִכְסֵי צַדִּיקִים שֶׁבְּתוֹכָהּ – אוֹבְדִין, שֶׁבְּחוּצָה לָהּ – פְּלֵיטִין. וְשֶׁל רְשָׁעִים, בֵּין שֶׁבְּתוֹכָהּ בֵּין שֶׁבְּחוּצָה לָהּ – הֲרֵי אֵלּוּ אוֹבְדִין.

It is stated: “Destroy it utterly, and all that is in it and its animals, with the edge of the sword” (Deuteronomy 13:16). From here, the Sages stated: The property of the righteous, who did not engage in idol worship, that is inside the city is destroyed with the rest of the city and its contents; but the property of the righteous that is outside the city is spared. And the property of the wicked, whether it is inside the city or whether it is outside the city, these items are destroyed.

The issue is that the word שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר typically used to indicate a proof-text for a preceding law. Here, as per the Steinsaltz translation, it is rendered “It is stated” and begins the next paragraph, indicating it introduces a new verse. Indeed, after quoting the verse, we have מִכָּאן אָמְרוּ.

Indeed, that is the structure of the next bunch of laws and prooftexts, beginning with a שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, then the verse, then the law.

In other words, it could be:

• Law A / Prooftext A

• Law B / Prooftext B

• Law C / Prooftext C

or else the structure could be, as it seems here:

• Prooftext A / Law A

• Prooftext B/ Law B

• Prooftext C / Law C

And the structure seems to be the latter, which does not work well with an introductory shene’emar. This could be simple a strange usage — since it says X, therefore Y.

But, Vilna puts shene’emar in parentheses in all of these, and manuscripts typically don’t have it.

Still, for this very first one, I see that Munich 95 does have it. Maybe in error, with the scribe seeing a prootext right after a law and filling in those words.

However, let us take this as a challenge and see if we can somehow derive law A from prooftext B. This would be:

Law A:

הַחַמֶּרֶת וְהַגַּמֶּלֶת הָעוֹבֶרֶת מִמָּקוֹם לְמָקוֹם, הֲרֵי אֵלּוּ מַצִּילִין אוֹתָהּ

Prooftext B:

שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר ״הַחֲרֵם אֹתָהּ וְאֶת כׇּל אֲשֶׁר בָּהּ וְאֶת בְּהֶמְתָּהּ לְפִי חָרֶב״,

A chameret is a caravan moving by donkeys, but there are humans there. From where? הַחֲרֵם אֹתָהּ. Read not hacharem ota but hachamer ita, referring to donkeys. A gamelet is apparently a camel caravan, thus another kind of animal with its people. From where? וְאֶת בְּהֶמְתָּהּ. Read not ve’et behemta but ve’et beham-ta, where a Beham is an animal driver.

I am channeling the reinterpretation / revocalization as Beham following Rabbi Yonatan’s lead in Bereishit Rabba 32.

וְהַמַּיִם גָּבְרוּ מְאֹד מְאֹד עַל הָאָרֶץ וגו' (בראשית ז, יט), רַבִּי יוֹנָתָן סְלַק לְמִצְלֵי בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם, עֲבַר בַּהֲדֵין פְּלָטָאנֵיס וַחֲמָתֵי חַד שָׁמְרֵיי, אֲמַר לֵיהּ לְהֵיכָן אַתְּ אָזֵיל, אֲמַר לֵיהּ לְמֵיסַק לְמִצְלֵי בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם. אֲמַר לֵיהּ לָא טַב לָךְ לְמִצְלֵי בַּהֲדֵין טוּרָא בְּרִיכָא, וְלָא בְּהַהוּא בֵּיתָא קַלְקַלְתָּא. אֲמַר לֵיהּ לָמָּה הוּא בְרִיךְ, אֲמַר לֵיהּ דְּלָא טָף בְּמוֹי דְּמַבּוּלָא. נִתְעַלְמָה מֵעֵינֵי רַבִּי יוֹנָתָן וְלֹא הֱשִׁיבוֹ לְשָׁעָה, אֲמַר לוֹ חַמָּרֵיהּ, רַבִּי תַּרְשֵׁינִי וַאֲנִי מְשִׁיבוֹ, אָמַר לוֹ הֵין. אֲמַר לֵיהּ אִין מִן טוּרַיָיא רָמַיָא הוּא, הָא כְתִיב (בראשית ז, יט): וַיְכֻסּוּ כָּל הֶהָרִים הַגְּבוֹהִים, וְאִין מִן מָכַיָא הוּא לָא אַשְׁגַּח בֵּיהּ קְרָיָא וְלָא אַחְשְׁבֵיהּ כְּלוּם. מִיָּד יָרַד לוֹ רַבִּי יוֹנָתָן מֵעַל הַחֲמוֹר וְהִרְכִּיבוֹ שְׁלשָׁה מִילִין, וְקָרָא עָלָיו שְׁלשָׁה מִקְרָאוֹת (דברים ז, יד): לֹא יִהְיֶה בְךָ עָקָר וַעֲקָרָה וּבִבְהֶמְתֶּךָ, אֲפִלּוּ בַּבֶּהָמוֹת שֶׁבָּכֶם. (שיר השירים ד, ג): כְּפֶלַח הָרִמּוֹן רַקָּתֵךְ מִבַּעַד לְצַמָּתֵךְ, הָרֵיקִין שֶׁבָּכֶם רָצוּף תְּשׁוּבוֹת כְּרִמּוֹן, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (ישעיה נד, יז): כָּל כְּלִי יוּצַר עָלַיִךְ לֹא יִצְלָח וְכָל לָשׁוֹן תָּקוּם אִתָּךְ לַמִּשְׁפָּט תַּרְשִׁיעִי זֹאת נַחֲלַת עַבְדֵי ה' וגו'.

“And the water accumulated exceedingly upon the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered” (Genesis 7:19).
“And the water accumulated exceedingly upon the earth” – Rabbi Yonatan was once going up to pray in Jerusalem. He was passing near Palatinos when he saw a certain Samaritan. He [the Samaritan] said to him: ‘Where are you going?’ He said to him: ‘I am going up to Jerusalem to pray.’ He said to him: ‘But is it not preferable for you to pray on this blessed mountain, and not on that mountain of ruins?’ He said to him: ‘In what way is it [Gerizim] blessed?’ [Replied the Samaritan:] ‘In that it was not inundated in the Flood.’ It [a response] escaped Rabbi Yonatan, and he did not answer him at that moment. His donkey driver said to him: ‘Rabbi, allow me and I will answer him.’ He said to him: ‘All right.’ He said to him [the Samaritan]: ‘If it [Gerizim] is one of the highest mountains, is it not written: “All the high mountains…were covered”? And if it is one of the lower ones, the verse does not pay any attention to it and gave it no consideration at all.’ Immediately, Rabbi Yonatan dismounted the donkey and led him on it for three miles [to honor him]. He applied three verses to him: “There will not be an infertile male or a barren female among you, or among your animals [behema]” (Deuteronomy 7:14) – even among the animal drivers [bahamot] among you. “Your temple [rakatekh] is like a pomegranate slice behind your braid” (Song of Songs 4:3) – even the empty ones [reikanin] among you are as full of responses as a pomegranate [is full of seeds]. That is what is written: “Any weapon crafted against you will not succeed, and any tongue that will rise against you in judgment will be condemned. This is the inheritance of the servants of the Lord…” (Isaiah 54:17).

I think my derasha is a bit too creative, and does not reflect reality or the hidden derasha. It is, rather, just an off-by-one error. Still, this is good practice in iterating through various rereadings to find a derasha.